


My Father's Mistakes

by aintgonnaleaveyoumikey



Category: Grand Theft Auto Series (Video Games), Grand Theft Auto V
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:33:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23787151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aintgonnaleaveyoumikey/pseuds/aintgonnaleaveyoumikey
Summary: "You okay?" Michael asked, even when he knew the answer."No, I… Shit, I'm not." He shot Michael a terrified look before covering his mouth with his hands, breathing heavily and looking at the floor. He looked more panicked than Michael had ever seen him before.
Relationships: Amanda De Santa/Michael De Santa, Franklin Clinton/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 31





	My Father's Mistakes

Michael was enjoying a quiet evening alone by watching _The Many Wives of Alfredo Smith_ for the seventh time, when his phone rang. He paused the movie before digging out his phone a bit annoyed, but seeing Franklin’s name made the irritation subside.

He answered the call, but he didn’t even have time to greet Franklin before he was speaking.  
"Ey, Mike, you home right now?" He was talking fast, Michael could barely understand what he was saying.  
"Yeah, I'm home, kid. What's the matter, you seem kinda…"  
"Mind if I come over? I really gotta talk to you, dog."  
"Sure, but…"

Franklin hung up and Michael looked at his phone, puzzled. Not a minute later he heard someone walk through the door, and he jumped up from the sofa, alarmed at the sudden noise. He turned around to see Franklin walking into his house like it was his own. It kind of was with how close they had become over the years. 

"Hey," Franklin said, wringing his hands together nervously.  
"Hey, Frank. Wait, were you already outside when you called?" Michael asked, his eyebrows knitting together. Usually he just walked in whenever. 

"Yeah, sorry, dog. I…" He trailed off.  
"You okay?" Michael asked, even when he knew the answer.  
"No, I… Shit, I'm not." He shot Michael a terrified look before covering his mouth with his hands, breathing heavily and looking at the floor. He looked more panicked than Michael had ever seen him before. They had been through some serious shit and out of their little crew, Franklin was always the calm and collected one.

Michael pushed down the dread that was taking over his body. He was mostly out of his depth here, but he gently took hold of Franklin's shoulder and squeezed reassuringly.  
"Whatever it is, we'll figure it out. _Franklin_. Listen. It's gonna be okay," he murmured quietly. 

After a while Franklin dropped his hands and looked Michael in the eyes again.

"I'm… I'm gonna be a dad."

Michael was stunned into silence. Franklin had never seemed to be against having a family, and he and his girlfriend had been together for almost three years now. They were definitely serious: after every time Franklin brought Leona over for dinner, Michael and Amanda joked about receiving wedding invites in the mail soon. They both liked Leona, she was funny and sweet and really seemed to make Franklin happy. So… 

"That's good news, right?" Michael asked carefully after a moment, patting Franklin’s arm.  
"Yeah, it is, but…" Franklin shook his head.

Michael frowned slightly.  
“Listen, sit down and I’ll bring you something to drink.” 

Michael got them some whiskey and when he got back, he found Franklin leaning back to the couch. He pushed the glass into his hand and sat down next to him, sipping from his own glass.  
“So. How far along is she?”  
“Like almost two months. We uh, didn’t notice right away.” Franklin looked embarrassed, but Michael nodded and chuckled a bit. That sounded familiar.  
“Don’t worry, that happens. She happy?”  
Franklin smiled for the first time since getting in and looked Michael in the eyes. “She’s so fucking happy, dog.”  
Michael smiled back at him gently. “And you?” He asked.

Franklin’s smile faltered, his eyes showing his uncertainty.  
“I was when she told me yesterday, homie, but today… I can’t stop thinking about how I’m gonna fuck this up.”  
“Hey, that’s ridiculous,” Michael frowned.  
"No, Mike. I'm gonna fucking ruin that kid, man. I'm gonna fucking _traumatize_ the kid, because… because how the fuck am I gonna be a proper dad when I never had one myself?" Franklin whispered the rest of the sentence. He took a sip of his whiskey and rubbed his face.

Michael paused, trying to gather his thoughts. Seeing Franklin like this was killing him, but he had to think what to say for a while. He sighed.

"Honestly, Frank, I'm not the best person to ask for advice here. My daughter wrote a song about daddy issues, and I wish I meant that figuratively. She even performed it on national television. And my son once _drugged_ me."  
Franklin snorted and they were quiet for a while, just drinking.  
"But your relationship with them is all good now, right? I mean, things were all kinda crazy back then."  
"I guess, yeah. It got better when they moved out so that we didn’t have to see all the time. Fuck, that sounds awful."  
“Nah, I know what you mean, homie. You bound to fight someone when you live with them.”  
“Ain’t that the truth,” Michael grinned, finished his drink and put the glass on the table, turning to Frank again.

“Listen. You’re in a good situation here. You’re an adult, you won’t have any money problems ever, you’ve got time to get used to the idea, and you are a great fucking guy. Level-headed and smart. You’ll be a great father. Good kids have come from circumstances way worse than that. ”  
“I know, man. That’s not really what I’m worried about.” Franklin rubbed the back of his neck.  
“What is it, then?”  
“Just… How do I avoid making mistakes? You know? Fuck.”

Michael hummed amusedly. Maybe he was the right person to give advice, after all.

“The truth is, Frank, every parent makes mistakes. It’s just the matter of which ones. Everyone really wants to avoid the mistakes their own parents made, and well, that can’t always be done, but you still try _so fucking hard_ to do that. What I’m getting here is that since your father…” Michael made an awkward gesture with his hand. 

“Got my mom into drugs and ditched us,” Franklin finished the sentence dryly.  
“Yeah… So I’m getting that you’re afraid of hurting Leona or... neglecting your family?”  
“Yeah, man, that’s about it.” A faint chuckle left his lips and he gulped down the rest of his whiskey with a grimace.

“Then that means you’re gonna be there for your family, no matter what. And you’re gonna love them, no matter what. That’s the best you can do. You won’t leave them and I know you would never hurt them. Yeah, you’ll make your mistakes because everyone does. That doesn’t mean you will ruin your kid.” Michael didn’t mention that he had thought for years that he had ruined his own. But they turned out great, after all. Just a few rough years.

“Of course I won’t intentionally hurt them, but…” Franklin looked at him, still uncertain, so Michael continued.

“You want advice? I’ll tell you what to do. You’re gonna leave the game for real. You’ve stayed out, mostly, and that’s good, but this is the point where you _stop_. No more weekend heists, no matter how much T complains about you quitting. And no, you’re not gonna retire like I tried to. It doesn’t fucking work if you’re not doing anything with your life, so you’re gonna find something you like doing. What do you wanna do, Franklin?”

Franklin thought for a moment, fiddling with his glass.  
“Man, I… You know I love cars, so I guess...”  
“Great! So you could start a business of your own. You gotta do something, because if all you have in your life is this one thing, no matter how much you like the one thing, it’ll get tiresome. I hate to say it, but… That’s what happened to Amanda. I basically left her to take care of the kids on her own, and she had nothing else in her life. Especially after we came here.” Michael sighed.  
“Don’t blame yourself, dog,” Franklin said, and Michael smiled at the way Franklin always tried to make him feel better about himself.  
“I do, but it’s better now.” He had his regrets, but him and Amanda were honestly doing better now. Not just pretending to get along.

Franklin just nodded and Michael continued.  
“So you’ll need to find the balance, right? You hire a dozen workers or something if that’s what it takes, so that you always have that _something else to do_ but you get to spend all the time you want with your family. Hey, most people aspire to get out of the rat race their whole lives, you never have to even get in the race in the first place! You get to support your family not only financially but also… emotionally. Be there for them. You get to live the family life, you need to treasure that. And do not miss out on the baby-years, because you’re gonna end up regretting it if you do.”

Michael took a deep breath, having poured out some of his greatest regrets, and Franklin nodded after staring at him for the longest time, a soft look in his eyes.  
“Okay, man, yeah. That was a lot but… I get it.”  
“Yeah?” Michael smiled a bit.

“Yeah. You’re telling me not to repeat my father’s mistakes.”  
Michael didn’t get the implication immediately, he opened his mouth to ask what Franklin meant, when it hit him. He closed his mouth, almost feeling tears in his eyes, not believing that he was lucky enough to have this kid in his life. Franklin grinned at him, and Michael’s smile was wide enough to hurt his face.  
“Yeah, _son_. That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

Franklin bumped Michael’s shoulder with his fist.  
“Don’t you dare cry. _Grandpa_.”  
“Oh! Now you’re taking it too far, kid!” Michael warned him jokingly and they laughed.  
“Yeah, yeah, old man. But seriously, dog, thank you for this. I’m pretty sure I’ll have a hundred breakdowns like this before Leona’s even on her third trimester but… But at least I know you can give me a pep talk when I do.”  
“Always talk to me, Frank. Whatever it is.”  
“Yeah, for sure, man,” he answered, and looked at his clock. “I think I gotta get back home now.”

He got up from the sofa to leave but he turned back to Michael again.  
“Listen, I… This might be a bit soon, considering it’s only two months and all that, but I was wondering if... I was gonna ask if you’d like to be the godfather. You and Lamar, maybe. And a couple of Leona’s friends as godmothers.” Franklin looked slightly apprehensive, as if Michael could ever say no that.  
“Of course I will. I’d absolutely fucking love to.” He said immediately and got up as well.

Franklin’s face lit up in a way that was pulling at Michael’s heartstrings.  
“Thanks, homie. I really appreciate it.”  
“It’s my pleasure, man. Trevor will fucking lose it if you don’t ask him, though. You might need to consider that,” Michael said and grinned at Franklin’s grimace.  
“Fuck, you’re right. This kid’s gonna have the craziest uncles, huh?”  
“You got that right.”  
“But don’t tell them that yet, I’ll ask them later. Leona thinks it’s too early but I needed to talk to you or I was gonna fucking lose it.”  
“I’ll keep my mouth shut,” Michael promised.

They looked at each other for a moment, their normal goodbye of “See you later, man” seeming very inadequate after the talk they had. They had never really shown affection outside of pats on the shoulder, but if this wasn’t a time for a hug, when was it ever?  
“Ah, screw it. Come here,” Michael says and pulls Franklin into a hug, putting his hands around his shoulders. Franklin immediately did the same and they stayed like that for a moment.

Michael squeezed him tight.  
“You’re gonna be an amazing father, Frank,” Michael said and patted his back a few times gently.  
“Thanks, Mike,” Franklin mumbled against his shoulder, and after that he let go. He left, waving Michael goodbye and looking much better than when he came in. He looked excited and _motivated_ , and it made Michael smile widely in delight.

He sat down on the couch thinking how it almost really felt like he was going to be a grandfather. 

He couldn’t wait to meet this kid.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a lot of feelings about the father-son relationship between Michael and Franklin and I needed them to have some wholesome moments! If I had infinite time, I would probably write more of Leona and their kid and the crazy uncles because our boy Franklin needs to be happy, but right now I'm focusing on other fics.
> 
> Thank you so much to BartyMellvue for betaing, once again, and to MarstonsMarkers for comments and coming up with Leona's name! <3


End file.
